Blur and His Adventures
by KP Kesey
Summary: A cool story I wrote that is almost the exact same as Redwall. Here we have a vengeful mouse named Ralph and his yellow finch companion Blur travel to the Blue Gates to warn the king of a grave threat. Betrayal, action, drama and action combine in this


Blur and His Adventures

By Mike Falk

8/22/01

Blur, a yellow finch sat on his branch. He stopped and surveyed the scene before him. Oak Wood looked especially beautiful in the sunlight. He was a young and arrogant finch who had just left home. His house was nice. He had picked a medium sized elm to place his house on. There was a small cave in the tree, so he made his house in there.

He had made his bed out of some quilt and soft bark. There was a small window to the left. Then on the right he had his food. He had a pack of candied chestnuts, his favorite food and some October ale.

Blur, hence his name, was the fasted creature in Oak Wood. He was faster than anything you could possibly find in the forest. All you would see if you saw him take off was a yellow blur. He was very proud of this, and anyone he met, he would show his talent to.

Blur waddled back into his house. He sat down on his small wooden table and would take a look around the forest.

He got out of his house and set off, and all you could see was a small yellow blur. The amazing thing was that he could see everything even when he was going so fast. He stopped when he saw a mouse walking down the road. He fluttered to a sycamore tree to watch the mouse.

Ralph was walking down the path that led to the Blue Gates, the most glorious mouse and woodlander kingdom of all. He was sad and mad all at the same time.

He will have revenge!

He walked forward. He was very tired and thirsty. But what fueled him to keep going was the revenge he was going to take. He found himself getting very weak. He collapsed.

Blur saw the mouse fall over. He couldn't help but to feel sorry for the poor thing. He fluttered down to the mouse. The mouse was carrying a sword. He was a warrior perhaps. Blur thought that it would be the right thing to do if he helped the limp form back to his house. It would be evil to let it rot here.

Blur went over to the mouse, got him in his talons, very small ones, indeed! He picked him up and started to fly. He couldn't go very fast. The mouse was very heavy. He finally made it to his house before the moon fell.

The dragged the mouse to his bed and tucked him in gently. He sighed and got out some October ale and began to drink.

Ralph woke up staring at a young yellow finch. He struggled to get up.

"Slow down buddy, save your strength." The finch seemed almost relaxed, though there was a visible tension in his voice. "I'm Blur, nice to meet you."

"Hello Blur," Ralph said weakly. "Do you have any food?"

"Do I? Hell, I got loads of food, are you hungry?" Blur seemed to relax at the sound of food.

"Anything will be fine, thank you."

"How about some candied chestnuts and October ale?" Ralph gratefully nodded. Blur got up and picked up a giant bag filled to the brim with chestnuts. Ralph's eyes widened. Blur put some in a small moss bowl and passed them to Ralph. Ralph ate greedily and drank deeply of the October ale.

"Hungry?"

"Yes, I have been traveling for a long time. I'm Ralph."

"Hi there Ralph. What brings you here?" Ralph became silent. He started to eat slower and he didn't make eye contact with Blur. "Was it something I said? Oh I see, never mind."

"No, no, I shall tell you why I am here." Ralph was shaking uncontrollably. "Well, er, well you see I live in a village called Rockland, far in the west. In Rockland, there is a great gold mine you see, and a lot of vermin would stop at nothing to get to it." Blur nodded. He was a little worried of what he was going to here next. He never fancied vermin, never.

"Well anyway, my father, William the Warrior was leader and protector of our village. He would drive off any vermin that would get near. For at least a year, there were no organized attacks against our village. But not just one week ago, a massive army of ferrets, stoats, weasels and rats attacked our lonely village. Our town militia stood no chance. We sent out a messenger and prepared for defenses. After just one attack, the army was repelled but almost our entire militia was dead. My father had received a fatal wound. On his deathbed he gave me his sword to tell the leader of the Blue Gates that Largar was coming. He then died. I left. Rockland was destroyed and Largar is conquering lands as we speak. I must tell the leader at Blue Gates even if it is the last thing I do!"

2

Largar the Strong looked at the remains of a porcupine village he had just taken over. He was getting closer to the Blue Gates every minute. He had taken all the gold from that worthless Rockland. Although the village had been taken, his army had been repelled for a short time. This was totally unacceptable. The scum would have to be trained harder.

His second in command, a stoat named Blackblood came over and saluted smartly towards Largar. Blackblood was once with a sea rat. He conquered lands from a ship. Now he was conquering lands from land. He had been all over the world fighting.

The village was small, but useful. A porcupine leader was a close friend of Zelakal, the leader of the Blue Gates. Hopefully this would make a dent in enemy morale.

"At ease," Largar said calmly. Blackblood relaxed and began walking with Largar.

"So far sir the porcupines lost twenty soldiers and we lost fifteen. It was that Halfspike, sir, the one Zelakal knows well, he would curl up and hit down our beasts like nine pin bowling."

"I see. Well another successful victory, eh Blackblood?"

"Aye, chief, we took 'em down." They gave each other a hearty slap on the back and walked away laughing. Then, on surprise, Largar hit Blackblood with all his might sending the stoat flying.

"How by the fang could you let fifteen of our beasts die, you unconfident fool!" Blackblood was taken aback so much by the blow that he could only mutter. "Well, if I see any battle that our grand army is inflicted the same casualties as a measly Blue Army militia, I will personally slay you, understood?"

Blackblood rose on shaky legs and saluted not as smartly as he had done before. "Yessir, chief sir, I won't let you dow- aaagh!" Largar gave him another swift blow and the terrified stoat ran as fast as he could. Largar was laughing so hard he fell over.

The weasel Terrence had to leave. He could not stand the killing and destruction of Largar's horde. He had come when he was very young and insolent. The only thought that he had in his mind was slaying another creature.

When he did slay a creature, he changed. It was a mouse. He was running through a brush when Terrence saw him and fired a well aimed arrow. He was an expert archer and spy.

He looked at the village that had been just destroyed. In the middle of the village was a center. When he came to spy, it was bustling with activity, traders and store owners. After the battle, though, there were only cinders to mark where the center had been.

He had planned his escape for long enough. He thought it over in his mind. The night was perfect for escape. He and his companion, Hairnose were on sentry duty tonight. When they left their tent to do his duty, Terrence would sneak up on him and knock him unconscious. He would then leave through the forest. He packed up all the rations he had left and got ready for the night.

"Aye, Terrence, I we should be a-goin' out to our duty now." Hairnose was a overly gullible rat.

"Aye, let's head out."

"Aye." They left their tent. After about an hour of being on his post, Terrence decided that he must take action. He snuck around until he heard Hairnose. He was silent. Hairnose was singing. Terrence picked up a stone and smashed it over Hairnose's skull.

_CRACKKKKKKK!_

Hairnose fell over in a heap. Terrence checked to see if he was still alive. He was. Terrence blew a sigh of relief and ran out into the forest.

Terrence went non-stop till he stopped by a small stream. He picked up some hazelnut bread. Drinking deeply of the stream and eating greedily of the bread, he never heard the rustling leaves from behind him.

3

Ralph was recovering faster everyday now. He became to like Blur a lot. One cool autumn afternoon, Ralph announced that he must go the Blue Gates now.

"And why would I not be a comin' with you?" inquired Blur.

"Aye, if you want to come along, that would be fine with me."

"How far off are the Blue Gates from here?" asked Blur.

"About a three days walk."

"I see." That afternoon, they set off. Blur kept things happy with stories of his childhood.

"Aye, lovely tales, Blur." Ralph said. They walked on with Blur recounting his tales of old throughout the beautiful Oak Forest.

The squirrel was almost upon the single weasel now. His name was Lief, he was a spy for the Blue Gates. He had seen a lone weasel and was advancing on him. He had heard rumors from woodlanders he had been with that a great horde was advancing through Oak Forest. He had not believed this, but this weasel could be of some valuable use, if in fact, there was a great horde moving through Oak Forest.

He advanced slowly. The weasel was drinking from some water now. Lief struck. The weasel was caught of guard completely. Lief gave the weasel a swift blow to the face and then dodged a feeble attempt to hit him back. Terrence (the weasel) reacted quicker than Lief had anticipated. After Lief had hit him, he had regained senses completely and was now in battle mode.

Terrence struck once more; he scored a hit on Lief's face. The squirrel was stunned. But soon he regained his senses. In a flash he was up a sycamore tree. He climbed high enough so that he could see the weasel. He was looking all around. He was very confused.

"I mean no harm to you, squirrel!" he called. Lief sniggered. He had heard that before. "I have just escaped from Largar the Strong's camp, I need shelter. I could not stand his hatred any longer!" The snigger disappeared from Lief's face immediately. The talk of the giant horde must be true.

"How do I know you are not tricking me?" He called.

"I swear to you on my life!"

"A weasel's life is worthless!" An anger rose in Terrence. He did not care whether the squirrel meant peace or not. He flared. Attacking the tree viciously, he was in bitter rage. Lief noticed the pain and the mistake he made. He began to panic. If only he had been thinking a little bit more when he had said those words of hate. "I, I, I did not mean that, my friend."

The weasel did not hear. He stopped attacking the tree. He slumped over and began to cry.

Terrence knew he was not evil. His species may be considered evil, but in his heart, he knew he was true. Now this wretched squirrel had made a direct insult towards him. He broke down freely. He wanted to kill the squirrel. Every instinct in his body told him to kill the squirrel. But he couldn't. He just couldn't.

Lief was heartbroken. He had just made a weasel sob. A weasel! "I am very sorry, I did not know." The weasel began to lighten up. He looked up at the tree with only rage in his eyes.

"Take that back or deal with this," he said. As he said this, he pulled out a pirate's scimitar. Lief choked. He noticed the predicament he had just gotten himself into.

"I take the statement back. I am sorry. Please do not slay me. Please!"

Terrence heard the pitiful creature. He felt sorry. He put back in his scimitar. "I shall not kill you. Where do you come from?"

"The Blue Gates." Terrence smiled. That is where he intended to go to in the first place.

"Is Zelakal ruler?"

"Yes he is in supreme rule."

"Take me to him."

4

Largar was furious once more. A rat had been hit over the head with a rock and his spy; a weasel named Terrence was dead. Or so he thought.

He had summoned Blackblood to talk with him. Ever since being beat up, Blackblood acted in an orderly fashion when around Largar.

"What is it chief?"

"Blackblood, do you know anything about the two soldiers who were attacked last night?"

"No sir. But I do know that Hairnose said that Terrence was still on watch when he left. But he was probably hit over the head and Terrence went to invesdigate and got it." Largar gave Blackblood a piercing stare.

"I see. Terrence is not dead. Assemble a search party and find him. We have an escape on our hands.

"Chief are you s"

"Yes I am!" Largar roared. "Now find him!" Blackblood saluted and ran away.

Largar paced. This Terrence was a trickster. But Largar the Strong had found him. The traitor. Largar hated the word: traitor!

He walked out of his tent. His third in command, a rat named Darktail was outside looking at a stream.

"Darktail!" the rat scrambled and got in a military stance quickly.

"Yes chief?"

"We are moving out, get all the beasts assembled, we push on once more!" the rat nodded.

"Yessir!" the rat scampered off to his tent. Largar could not wait till he reached the Blue Gates. One day, he would take them. He would be the supreme rule over all Oak Wood.

Blackblood had a crew of ten. They pushed through the forest. They went into a brush when a ferret spotted foot tracks. They walked non-stop. Then they came to a stream. Blackblood froze and he pointed. The traitor was right there, with the moonlight perfectly illuminating him, and to make things worse, he was talking to a tree! He signaled to his troops and gave the yell.

"Charrrrrrrrrrrrge!"

Terrence whirled around, pulling his scimitar. He was outnumbered eleven to one. He jumped to the left and cut a stoat running for him. The stoat was slain. He knew he had no chance. He closed his eyes as the ten remaining beasts advanced on him. They never reached him.

Terrence heard a yell and opened his eyes. The nearest ferret screamed in agony as an arrow struck him. The squirrel was helping! The ferret being hit caused confusion in the mob of attackers. Terrence took advantage of this and went through the mob cutting and slashing. He backed off after a score of hits. Three vermin were advancing on him. There was a rat behind him, though he did not know this. He turned to run, but there was a rat waiting.

It sneered at him and raised its sword to attack. Its smile turned to a frown when an arrow come whistling and ended up sticking through his neck. He fell over. Terrence turned to face the remaining vermin.

One charged. It was a foolish move. Terrence took him down with one slash. An arrow hit one of the others. He screamed as he was slain. The last beast, a stoat stood with his fists clenched hard to his weapons.

"Blackblood," Terrence murmured to himself. Blackblood's eyes were bloodshot and he knew his end was near. He stared at the traitor and his eyes became bloodshot.

"Largarggghhhhhh!" An arrow struck him just as he charged at Terrence. Terrence looked at all the beasts that had just been slain.

The squirrel came down from his haven. Terrence looked at him.

"I take that back." The squirrel said.

5

Ralph and Blur just reached the Blue Gates. The only word that came to his mind was: beautiful.

They were standing in front of the north wall. Hence its name, the walls were painted a beautiful blue. Stain glass windows were dotted along the wall. The north gate was huge. Its giant locks were an awe just looking at them. The two towers that were at the end of the gate were so high, Ralph could not see the roof.

"'Tis beautiful, isn't it Blur?" he gasped. Blur did not answer. Ralph looked at Blur. Blur was in absolute awe.

"Aye, 'tis so beautiful, I could fly. Yes I could fly!" He was gone before Ralph could blink an eye. All Ralph saw was a small yellow blur. Ralph had found out why Blur had had such a weird name.

"Blur! Where are ya?" He looked up.

"Who is Blur?" Ralph jumped. He turned to see a huge badger sitting right in front of him. It was a female. She seemed very young. Instead of having black stripes, her stripes were gray.

"Blur is my friend, a yellow finch." Ralph suddenly remembered why he had come to the Blue Gates in the first place. "Ah, I must speak to Zelakal, right now, if you do not mind."

The badger looked at Ralph suspiciously. "Why must you speak with Zelakal?"

"I have important news, now please let me"

"Aye, let 'im in, we got some important news for your leader." Blur came down with amazing speed and stood glaring at the badger.

"Fine, only you two, no one else, do you here?" Blur and Ralph nodded. Blur managed a snigger thinking how the badger thought they were not alone.

They walked into the courtyard. There was a great dandelion garden to the right of the west gate. A barracks lay by the east gate. By the south gate, the largest of all be the gates, there was the castle portion of the courtyard. That is where the endless towers had started, thought Ralph.

"Follow me." The badger's voice was harsh. They walked towards the south gate. They entered the castle portion.

The Great Hall was magnificent. Portraits of past rulers hung on the walls. Blur was amazed to see that they weren't all mice. Some were even finches, like him! He blushed and kept on walking.

The wallpaper was of a deep red. Stain glass windows let in light beams into the Great Hall.

"Turn here." They walked into the royal chamber. The thrown was amazingly simple, old and faded. There was a blue leather, with silver linings around it. The legs were made of silver. That is not what caught Ralph attention, though. It was the mouse sitting on the throne.

He was a young strong mouse. But the thing that startled Ralph was that he wasn't brown. He was a pale white! He had pink eyes and was a pale white!

"What is this, Graystripe?" he asked in a powerful voice.

"This mouse and this finch want to talk to you, they say it is important."

"I see, but you must stay in here Graystrip, just in case." Zelakal said. Graystripe walked towards a corner of the room and stood silent. "What brings you here?"

Ralph walked forward. "Sir, I used to live in the far west…." Ralph began from the beginning. From his beginnings, to William the Warrior, and finally to where Blur brought him in.

Zelakal looked deep into Ralph eyes. Such a young mouse had such wisdom, thought Ralph. When Ralph had finished, Zelakal stood up. "Who did you say this horde leader was?"

"Largar the Strong." Blur shivered. He knew he had heard that name before.

"Rondy, get these woodlanders a nice place to sleep." A hare walked forward, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Yes sir, got to get them their rooms. C'mon, old chap, there you go." Blur giggled at the hare's accent. "What is wrong jolly old chap, c'mon now."

When they had left, Zelakal let out a long sigh. A vermin horde had come through. What would he do now? Would he launch an offensive? No. He should send spies and learn of their location. Would cost less lives. What if he never even attacked the Blue Gates? No, that is what he is after.

Zelakal slumped back in his chair, deep in thought.

Rondy led Blur and Ralph to their rooms. He led them to a bunk bed. Blur fluttered to the top. He fell asleep instantly. Ralph lay awake. He was afraid. He was afraid of Largar, but he would kill Largar, he had to. The evil vermin took so many innocent lives with the flick of his paw.

Ralph hated vermin like that. One day, he would work to prevent the evil in the world, he vowed to himself.

Ralph awoke with a start. Rondy was at the door.

"Zelakal needs you." Ralph got up and slowly walked towards Rondy. He came to Zelakal's room. With him there was a squirrel and a weasel.

"Ralph, I am sorry to wake you, but this is important." Ralph nodded sleepily. "Thank you. Now you said that the horde leader was named Largar?"

Ralph nodded. "That was his name." He said.

The weasel turned to him. "You now of Largar?"

"Yes, he killed my family and took over my home." The weasel looked down and sighed.

"Aye, well I was in his horde. I found it best to leave."

"Terrence here abandoned Largar's horde to help out with peace and harmony," Zelakal said. "Lief, the squirrel found him. They were attacked by a small group of Largar's vermin." Ralph stared at the weasel. He thought this might be a trick.

"I know what you are thinking, mouse, I am not a traitor. I was checked and the perimeter is secured. Plus, I have some proof with Lief here."

"Terrence, tell us what you know about concerning Largar." Zelakal said. Terrence nodded and began.

"Well, he has already taken over all of the west. In his furious conquests he leaves no survivers. He is also almost done with the south. But this is not all. The evil sea stoat, Pulock, who is attacking the east as we speak, will join him. Pulock also has with him the fearsome Ratel Raiders. They are now waging war against the hopelessly miniscule defenses in the East. He is launching a major offensive on the porcupine villages. Few remain right now." Zelakal pounded his fist on the table.

"Damn him! How could he get under our noses like this?" Zelakal had always been peaceful, but Ralph noticed the burning hatred in his eyes.

"May I continue?" Zelakal nodded. "Anyway, the north is almost conquered. The wolves have remained neutral but seem to want to join him now. He kills all of the messengers. He is advancing with many allies. He has been planning for many seasons, and does not expect to lose, as most of his casualties come from owls. His army is very well trained."

"Well, I guess we are going to have to break his heart then. Graystripe! Send all your messengers to the outlying villages of Oak Wood! We must organize the masses! He wants a fight, and by God he will get one!" Zelakal said, with the hatred burning in his eyes, stronger than ever.

6

Pulock, the sea stoat, had just conquered another mouse village. He made all his survivors slaves. He could almost see all the riches right now. Largar was a good deal maker.

Badfang, the fox that was conquering the north was thinking the same thing as Pulock. How he could taste the gold!

Largar was talking with Darktail.

"When they are done conquering their lands, we shall turn them against themselves, chief?" Darktail was catching on to the master plan that Largar had cooked up.

"Right on. The stupid oafs will have no idea what is going on. They will all die, and the survivors will join my horde. Also, if you were wondering, the Ratel Raiders have already defected, and are just waiting for the right time."  
"Genius! Brilliant!"

"I know I am, Darktail."

Keep going, go, go! Lawrence kept saying to himself. He came from the far north. His whole back was a light blue because of the cold. He was a mouse. A young mouse that had seen too much to cope with. He was going to the Blue Gates. He must tell them of Badfang. He must. He must. He mu, he collapsed.

He awoke in a cozy little place. He was underground. He jumped up.

"Ho hurr, 'e's awoke, oi don't believe it, oi'm gonna get 'im some hoit coicoa!" Lawrence laid back. He was in a mole's house. He was uncomfortable around moles. He did not know why.

An old female mole came rushing to the bed that he was laying in. She had hot cocoa in her huge digging hands.

"Here you go hoiney," she kindly handed him the drink. He gulped it down. He could feel his whole body thawing. He laid back and feel asleep.

He was running away from the fox. He was in a flat, desolate snowy landscape. He ran and ran. He turned and saw his father slain lying by a sycamore. He then got up.

"Help me, son!" Lawrence ran away once more. He tripped and saw his best friend being dragged off by the fox's horde.

"Help!" Lawrence made a feeble attempt, but the fox was there. He ran and ran. He tripped and fell. There in front of him was the weirdest mouse he had ever seen.

"Its okay, you'll be fine. You're okay." He awoke in a sweat. He was still at the snug mole house. The mole was humming as she was cooking some stew. It was a dream. Just a dream. Images of his father made him look down. He began to weep. The mole noticed and walked over to him.

"You be okay now. Shhhh, it'll be oikay," the mole smiled and walked back to her stew. "You 'ow, you are luckee to be oilive noiw."

"Yes, yes I am," Lawrence couldn't stop thinking about his father. Dead, it scared him. That fox. He caused all of this pain. Him. He would kill the fox. But the problem was that Lawrence was the opposite of what you call a warrior. He had never fought in his life. Let alone, he was a very smart planner. He could plan out battlefields with ease, when young, he helped his father win a battle with an evil ferret when he planned the attack.

Lawrence had been with snow all his life. It was part of the landscape to him. He respected snow more than anything else. He had seen what snow could do. Freezing. Sickness. He knew that it was a powerful force that you should not take for granted. His brother took snow for granted. Where was he? The Dark Forest, that's where.

"Moi stew is almoist done, naow," the mole was bringing over a steaming kettle to Lawrence when the someone knocked at the door. "Oi be right back naow." She put the stew on a counter and went to the wooden door.

"Why hello, Mrs. Tittles!" it was a shrew.

"Geoff! Hoiw noice oif you to come, we have a vister!" The shrew named Geoff walked in and looked at Lawrence.

"How do you do?" he had a gentle voice.

"Fine, thank you."

"Oi must get to the stew noiw, do you want soime, Geoff?"

"Aye, yes Mrs. Tittles." Mrs. Tittles scrambled off, muttering happily to herself. "So what brings you here Mr.?"

"I am Lawrence. My family is dead and I am a lone survivor from an attack from the north. A fox attacked us." The smile automatically erased from the shrew's face. He gazed at Lawrence intently. He was about to say something when Mrs. Tittles came with the stew.

"Here you goi, Oi'll be right back with some hoit coicoa." She left and Lawrence ate deeply of the stew. It was so delicious.

"Who attacked you?" Geoff's gaze was so intent that Lawrence had to look away.

"Badfang. He is an evil fox." Geoff's eyes widened.

"Is he pushing south?"

"I believe so." Geoff got up.

"I must go. I have to tell Strongsnout of this. I shall then go to the Blue Gates. Lawrence got up.

"Let me come! I was planning to go there anyway!"

Geoff and Lawrence left the next morning. They left a very baffled and somewhat disappointed Mrs. Tittles behind.

7

"Any word from Blackblood?" Largar had not heard from his second in command in a very long time. A stoat named Tickhead shook his head.

"No sign of 'em chief." Largar nodded and told Tickhead to get Darktail. Tickhead left. Largar sighed and waited for Darktail.

Darktail came scurrying in and sloppily saluted. "What is it chief?"

"Blackblood is more than likely dead. I am promoting you to my second in command. You have harder tasks and more responsibility now." He was cut off when Tickhead ran as fast as he could back into the tent. He was panting.

"What is it?" Largar demanded.

"Big, army, huge rat." Tickhead managed. He was regaining his strength.

"Come with me Darktail." Largar said as he brushed past Tickhead.

Deathbreath, the huge rat Tickhead had mentioned was waiting outside of the camp of Largar the Strong. Deathbreath was a sickening sight. He was three times the size of any normal rat and had over ten earrings on both ears. He had the biggest fangs you would ever encounter.

He was also feared with his curved sword. Some say that over five hundred have fallen to the sword. No one knew how many. All anybody knew was that he was more than perfect when fighting with it. He was a ruthless warlord that had just came back from conquering some small lands far, far west. Now he had come back to his camping spot and many vermin inhabited it.

His army consisted only of rats. He never trusted any other beast to work with him. Especially foxes. He hated foxes. Vermin! He was beyond mad right now. He just wanted to come home to get some wine and rest for a little while, and there it goes, some other huge army was here.

"Get me your leader!" he screeched in a vicious tone. "Now!" He smiled. The foe enemy was absolutely scared of him beyond words. His smiled flickered when the suspected leader walked out. He gasped. Largar the Strong! Largar looked up at him and beamed.

"Deathbreath! Me old pal, I thought you was dead!"

"Aye, with me too! Come over here Largar! What are you and yur mates doin' here?" They embraced and started to talk.

"So then I came back here, and there you was!" Deathbreath finished.

"Aye, so how much loot ya get?"

"Tons, gold everywhere if yur know what I'm saying!"

"Aye, do I ever!" Largar felt unusually happy.

"So tell me yur story now." Largar began.

"Well, me camp in the northeast got destroyed. So I took me horde and we decided we wanted to fight, badly. So we came here. So we bribed Pulock and Badfang to help us out. The stupid oafs, they didn't know what they got into. So we conquered the west and now are almost finished with the east. We are taking a well-deserved break now. Our next stop will be the Blue Gates, and that is when Badfang and Pulock are finished with the eastern and northern regions. I heard that Badfang is already done. Well, I can't wait to see the Blue Gates, as it has always been a dream of mine to see the splendor of the place."

"You? A dreamer? Harr harrr!"

"Aye, how by the fang do you think I've gotten this far, Deathie?" Deathbreath looked at him.

"What do you mean, Largar?" Largar gave a smile.

"I had to have imagination to plot this, don't you think? Why, I use imagination more than you think, Deathbreath."

As Ralph walked back to his room, he could not shut out the hatred in Zelakal's eyes. He hated Largar, but the gaze of Zelakal's eyes made him go numb. He walked back in the room. Blur was awake.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"Nowhere, just go to sleep, I have to think right now." Blur sensed there was something wrong and laid back in his bed.

"Sure thing."

When Ralph awoke, Blur was still asleep. He lay in his bed for a long time. He slowly got up and asked a passing hedgehog where he should go to eat.

"Go down the hall, turn left, go all the way down that hall, take the stairs to the right, and when you reach the end of the stairs, take a direct left and you're there." Ralph followed these instructions and ended up in the banquet room.

There was a great circular chair in the middle with many chairs. On the northeast corner the door for the kitchen lay. There were more paintings all over the walls. Giant stain glass windows let the morning light seep through. It was beautiful just to look at. Ralph gasped. He turned to see if anyone was there. Zelakal and Lief were there, eating and talking.

"Ah, excuse me," Ralph said. Lief looked up.

"Oh, one second. Friar Rontel!" a fat mouse appeared out of the kitchen door. He looked very merry and had food all over his apron.

"More food?"

"Yes, this young mouse needs some nourishment."

"Be right there!" the fat mouse waddled off.

"Come over here, Ralph," Zelakal said. Ralph walked over and sat down. The chair was very comfortable.

"About last night, what do you think we should do?" Zelakal gave Ralph a piercing stare that forced him to look away.

"Well," he began, "We should send spies of messengers to scout the land to see what Largar's activity is." He suggested.

"Aye, exactly, but he kills all the messengers." Lief said.

Ralph considered this. "We need an expert spy though. Especially someone who could easily slip through enemy lines." Zelakal was going to say something when Blur walked in.

8

Lawrence was following Geoff, Geoff was a grueling traveler. Lawrence had trouble keeping up.

"Who is Strongsnout?" he asked.

"Strongsnout is the leader of the order of shrews I belong to," he answered. "He is very wise and will most likely know what to do in this situation of ours."

They traveled till nigh, where they stopped by a stream. They ate cornmeal that Mrs. Tittles had gave them for the journey.

"Mrs. Tittles is a great beast, he Lawrence?"

"Aye, I liked her. She saved my life, you know." Lawrence knew he was finding a new friend.

"Really? Well she'd be the type to do that."

"Yeah, well, I'm getting tired. Good night." The second Lawrence touched ground he was asleep. Geoff chuckled and went to sleep also.

The next morning, they didn't travel as grueling as last time.

Geoff walked ahead and stopped at an oak tree. He beckoned Lawrence to get where he was. Lawrence shuffled over and asked what was up.

"Strongsnout is around here," Geoff whispered. "I'm going to surprise him." Geoff turned the tree and shouted something. There was then a rousing cheer and Geoff peeked his head back behind the oak. "You can come out now."

The shrew village was very homely. All the houses looked the same, straw roof, wooden base and two windows. The leader, Strongsnout, was the opposite. He had the presence of control. He was very muscular, and he had a huge club for his weapon. The village consisted of about forty shrews.

It turned out that Geoff had a wife and child. His wife's name was Lola, and his son's name was Thomas. Lawrence really liked Thomas. He was just and infant, and had a lot of fighting spirit in him. Strongsnout told him that he should stay the night with Geoff and his family, and they would venture for the Blue Gates tomorrow.

Geoff's house was very plain. It had a kitchen, which took up most of the house, and a fireplace and two straw thatched beds.

"You can sleep with Thomas tonight," Lola said to Lawrence. "I am going to cook up some dinner, anything to drink?"

"No thank you, I'm fine."

"No fank oo, I'ma feene!" baby Thomas copied. It was a good laugh for everyone. Lawrence enjoyed it most. He the happiest he had been since Badfang.

"Wake up! C'mon, we got to go!" Lawrence awoke in a daze. He had been having a great sleep. "C'mon, we're late! There is some cornmeal on the counter."

Lawrence got up, kissed baby Thomas on the cheek, picked up the cornmeal and left.

"Oo can't leeve witout mee!" Thomas called after them.

"Thomas, you watch the house, that is the greatest warrior duty. Lawrence and me have minor duties compared to you. I even think that Strongsnout might make you his second in command!" Thomas's eyes widened.

"Reewy?"

"Really!"

"Okay den!" Thomas went back to sleep. Lawrence and Geoff began to laugh.

A group of about ten shrews went on the journey. Others had to stay back and watch the village. Strongsnout would come along.

"It is a duty for the leader to appear!" everybody whole heartily agreed. They set off going south.

They traveled gruelingly through the forest. Occasionally they would stop to eat the cornmeal that their wives had left for them. The going was not easy. They trail they were following was very rugged and they had to watch out for any of Badfang's vermin. Finally, after about two days of traveling, they reached the Blue Gates.

Graystripe the badge was on guard. "What is this, a circus?" she said mockingly.

Strongsnout strode forward boldly. "We are here to talk to your leader, this instant!" Graystripe was a little taken aback by the shrew's bold tone.

"Why are you here?"

"We have information of Badfang!" Almost like a password, Graystripe led them into the courtyard and into Zelakal's court. Zelakal was talking with Terrence when the ragged shrew band walked in. He lifted his head.

"What is it?" he asked.

"This mouse has some reality information about Badfang!" Strongsnout said powerfully. Zelakal was indeed interested.

"Bring him here." Lawrence walked forward, with his head down. When he looked at the mouse, he gasped. It was the mouse from his dreams. Right there, alive! "What do you have to say?"

Lawrence began. "Well, I lived in a village called Drift, in the far north. We lived in peace and harmony. Then, when we least expected it, the fox called Badfang invaded. We were caught completely off guard. We tried to fight back. We tried so much, but it wasn't any use." He began to cry freely. Zelakal nodded to Rondy and Rondy led Lawrence off.

"You can tell us tomorrow, old chap, so get your self some rest."

Ralph heard of the blue mouse by Graystripe. He wanted to see him, but Graystripe said that he wasn't really in the mood to be around anyone.

There was an obvious tension in the Blue Gates. Zelakal had increased sentry duty, and the barracks's work had doubled. Lawrence finally got the story out a couple days later.

Blur was not worried at all. He was having the time of his life. But, beside that, he was training to be a spy. Ralph had talked to him about their plans. He said how fast and transparent he could be, which could make an excellent spy. So he was taking lessons with a female robin named Holly now.

He liked Holly very much, but all she would do was stick to the work that lay ahead of them. Holly was supposed to accompany Blur on his missions, which Blur had gratefully accepted.

He had been assigned his first mission. Zelakal had talked with him a lot to get the objectives through. "You and Holly will leave at the first light, which will give you enough time to find a good tree to spy on. You have to find Largar and find out what he is doing. He is near the porcupine villages. Holly knows where that is. She will direct you, but you will be doing all the spying. I wish you good luck, and please, try to come back with some information. I may sound rude, but it may be a waste if you come back with nothing.

If anything should happen to you, Holly will come immediately come back here and tell us of the situation and we will try to help. So try not to get hurt. We will pay you with three bags of candied chestnuts. Once again, good luck."

Blur went to sleep early that evening. He was very worried that he would mess up or something would go wrong. But then he thought of Holly, and his heart leapt, so all he had to do was think of Holly, and he would not do anything wrong.

"Blur, come on, we got to go!" Blur awoke to the soft voice of Holly.

"Okay," Blur got shakily up and followed Holly out of the Great Hall and outside. There she set off into the sky. "Wait!" Blur flew off as fast as he could. He caught up with Holly within seconds. All you could see was a yellow blur.

9

Zelakal knew his mouse army would not be near enough to fend off all of Largar's forces. Not only that, but from that helpless little Lawrence came more crippling information, Badfang was going to meet with Largar and then they would team up to attack his kingdom.

Zelakal was in deep despair. Just as Holly and Blur left to find more on Largar's plans, during the night, Zelakal set away from the Blue Gates. He had his carriage led by his carriage-driver, a mouse named Willie, take him to an old forgotten abbey that was about an hour away.

Neither Willie nor Zelakal talked until they reached the abbey.

"Stay here Willie, I will be back in a little bit."

"Yessem, see ya in a little bit then sir."

Zelakal managed a weak smile and set for the abandoned abbey. This particular abbey used to be grand. It is were Zelakal grew up as a peasant. He went to the old ramshackle church were he used to pray when he was a child and kneeled and prayed for guidence. Then he left and saw the moon.

It was so beautiful. He had made up his mind and set off for the carriage. When he reached it, Willie wasn't there. Zelakal drew his dagger. He turned and saw Willie sprawled on the ground..

"Hello young leader." A hiss came out.

Zelakal froze. He knew what was behind him and he just didn't want to come to terms with it. He knew at once that a bat had been following them.

"What do you want?" he stammered.

"You," hissed the beast. "Largar is going to pay me handsomely, oh yes he will, oh yes he will!" Zelakal was scared now. He made a swift movement behind the carriage. The bat sensing the movement screamed, "You cannot hide, no, you cannot hide young leader!"

Zelakal paid no attention. He peered and saw the bat trying to sense where he was. When the bat finally realized and charged to him, he took one good aim and threw his dagger.

The bat felt something sharp and cold jab between his eyes. He laughed a laugh of despair and tripped and writhed and struggled and then died all together. Zelakal was very scared that there would be more. He took Willie's body, put it in the carriage and set back for the Blue Gates.

He rode in great haste through the route in which he came. Willie was stirring.

"Its okay, my friend, we're almost home." Willie feebly nodded and looked out of the carriage and went pale. Just as this happened, Zelakal heard fluttering overhead.

"Sir! There's an owl! Sir, oh no sir!" Willie was very scared. Zelakal made a quick turn the right and saw the owl. Its yellow eyes looked into his. Then the owl struck. It hit the carriage and it went down a steep hill and in the confusion Zelakal saw Willie being hoisted from his spot, screaming. Then the carriage hit a tree and with a jerk, Zelakal was knocked unconscious.

Pulock the sea stoat was about two days away from Largar's camp. His general, Malice, was going to meet up with him right before they would meet with Largar. At the moment, Pulock was talking with one of his most trusted officials, Cutter.

"Aye, well I'ma thinkin that we meet 'im by the Grand Old Oak Tree, Pulock, sir."

"I like the way ya think, Cutter. He'sa comin from the east then, I suppose?"

Cutter straightened out. "Um.. Yes chief that's right," again he straightened out, "Then we are meeting him from da northerner west then, aye, yes that's right."

"Okay then, matey! I say we get some rum. We'll meet him in two days time to meet at the Grand Old Oak Tree! Send a messenger, and then we'll get us some run!"

As cutter nodded, he saw a yellow flash go by. "Jeez chief, my eyes have always been playin' tricks on me lately."

"Okay Holly, you stay behind and get some more information," Blur said. "I've got to get to the Blue Gates and tell Zelakal about this information! We can cut them off and have the first great victory!"

Holly nodded. "Good luck!"

Largar meanwhile had received an earlier message from Pulock saying that he will arrive shortly. He could not wait to have an even bigger force. Also, adding the power that Deathbreath added, he would be unbeatable!

He had figured out what he should do with Deathbreath. Once he was done dealing with the Blue Gates, he would turn on him and kill him in the night. There was still no word on Blackblood. He finally realized that he was really dead. He had lost a good official in him.

Meanwhile, Blur was speeding towards the Blue Gates. This information could clearly give the Blue Gates a early advantage. He thought that what they should do is cut off Malice and destroy his troops so that he cannot meet up with Pulock and then send a huge force to destroy Pulock. Largar's army would be cut down considerably.

He finally reached the Blue Gates. He made his way to the Grand Hall to be met by Lief and Graystripe.

"Hullo," he said. "I have urgent news for Zelakal."

Graystripe replied coldly. "He's missing."

Zelakal awoke among the wreckage of his carriage. He looked around for Willie, but he was no where to be seen. He had to get back to the Gates. He tried to walk but staggered and fell. He looked at his leg and it had a huge gash in it. He sighed and leaned against a tree.

He ripped off a piece of his robe and wrapped it around his leg. He then took a nearby stick and used it as a cane to stable his walking. He was trying to retrace his steps so that he could get back to his beloved kingdom. He was very weak. As he was limping along, he heard something move in the bushes behind him. He looked back and saw nothing. Again, he began to limp along. Then he heard a huge thump behind him. This time he was genuinely worried. He turned around and saw something he had never hoped to see before.

A raccoon was standing right in front of him.

Zelakal drew his sword but the raccoon merely laughed.

"Who are you?' it boomed.

"I am Zelakal, ruler of the Blue Gates and Oak Forest." Zelakal proclaimed.

The raccoon let out a booming laugh. "Well, Zelakal, if you are who you say you are, then I give you my service."

Zelakal, genuinely surprised at the humble raccoon, sheathed his sword. "You are a gentle giant. What is your name?"

The raccoon grunted. "Daton."

Everyone at the Blue Gates was sick with fright. None of the knew what to do without their trusted leader. Blur kept on pressing his idea of attacking Malice before he met up with Pulock. Everyone was looking for a leader, and Zelakal was gone.

Finally after a day of quarrel, Graystripe was named temporary leader of the Blue Gates and Oak Forest. She accepted the position gratefully vowed to lead the good animals to peace despite the threatening power of Largar the Strong.

After hearing Blur's plans, she rightfully agreed to them. She assembled a fighting force whose morale was invincible. They set out for the Great Old Oak Tree in the night so that they could intrecept Malice and take him out.

Largar was anxiously awaiting Pulock's arrival. He could not wait. He had heard that Pulock and a separate general, Pulock's old friend, Malice, was to join in the conquest of the Blue Gates. He could not wait to arrive in the Great Hall and enjoy a life of luxury for the rest of his life.

Darktail came speeding into his tent.

"What is it you scumbag?" he snarled. Darktail stood erect.

"Chief, um, hmm, oh yeah, here is a message from Badfang." He handed Largar a piece of parchment and scrambled out of the tent. Largar sat down and read what Badfang had to say.

_Largar, we have taken over the north completely and were hoping to arrive shortly. But we were held up by a blizzard. I have now decided that I will secede from my duty to you. I do not want to join you in your own conquest of the Blue Gates, but undertake my own. This probably very much upsets you. But by the time you get this I will probably be already upon the beautiful city. I have already taken out Zelakal, so my conquest should be quite easy. _

_Best Wishes,_

_Badfang the Great. _

**10**

Zelakal was riding on Daton's back as they were getting ever closer to the Blue Gates. Zelakal's wound was not too serious, but would most definetly need to be looked at. Daton proved to be a nice raccoon and had sworn service to Zelakal. From where they were, they were only about a day and a half away from the Blue Gates.

Graystripe made a tough decision by sending out the troops to cut off Malice and destroy Pulock. By doing this, she lost a considerable amount of her fighting force. Thus leaving the Blue Gates a vulnerable target.

But she relied on her scouts who reported no activity of Largar anywhere near the Blue Gates. This made Graystripe very confident and made her feel very much in control.

As Daton and Zelakal continiued to move forward, Daton saw something.

"Um, Zelakal, uh what is that?" Zelakal looked up and froze. Before him was the great horde of Badfang the Great, heading right for the Blue Gates.

Ralph had went off with the troops who were sent to destroy Malice and Pulock. He was feeling very confident but also was feeling like Graystripe had made a mistake. He eventually shook that idea off by convincing himself that without Malice and Pulock, Largar's force would be considerably smaller.

Ralph had also heard that in the North there was a huge blizzard that was holding Badfang up.

Geoff was in command of a small group of mice. Most of them were very young but were ready to defend the Blue Gates.

"Look at all of you," Geoff said. "You look like little momma's boys! Aye, I don't think that a sea stoat is gonna be afraid of you, my friends. C'mon now, put on some battle faces. We are only three hours away from the Grand Old Oak Tree!"

Among the mice in Geoff's command was Simon. He was a young mouse that would rather be at home than be here right now. He was currently with his best friend, Roger. They wanted to defend their homeland but they did not want to fight.

Both of them were shaking uncontrollably when Geoff said that they would be by the tree in three hours time.

"Roger, when this is over, I saw we hit the pubs." Simon said.

"I'm all for that. But first let's get this over with and then we'll have a grand old time at the pubs."

"That sounds like a good idea." Simon felt a little bit more comforted by this and sat down and began to write a letter to his parents.

Zelakal could hardly believe what he was seeing.

"Um, Zeke, uh" Zelakal silenced Daton before they would draw any attention. Zelakal got off Daton and limped toward a sheltered spot. Badfang was in front and was marching hastily towards the Blue Gates. Behind him was a countless army of vermin. Behind the vermin were rows and rows of prisoners that they took from the north.

"Daton," he whispered. "Do you know of any other paths to the kingdom?"

"Yessir, um yes. Sir get on my back I will take you there."

Graystripe was resting and eating when a pale scout came flying into the room.

"Um, uh , Gray, Graystripe, uh"

"What is it!" Graystripe snapped.

"Badfang, here he is here, now, Graystripe, he's here alone."

Graystripe stood unspeaking. She could not say anything. She could not do anything.

When Lawrence heard that Badfang was outside and ready to besiege the kingdom, he was not scared, but was completely enraged. He thought for a moment. He went and got Terrence.

"What should we do?" he demanded.

Terrence was speechless for a moment He was too stunned to speak.

Lief was at the Grand Old Oak Tree. He saw Malice's force in the distance. His task was completed. He ran off to get back to the army awaiting attack. The Battle of the Oak Tree was about to begin.

Ralph was sitting anxiously by Geoff.

"What do you think is going to happen?"

"We will whip them." Geoff said as he gripped his sword. "We will catch them off guard and win the first decisive battle. It will be great."

Ralph felt a little more confident. Largar the Strong will be his soon.

Terrence was running. He was running as fast he could. He has to get to the army soon. He must warn Ralph. He was running as fast as he could.

Simon and Roger were saw Malice's force approaching. The army had secretely circled the tree without a trace. Finally, Malice's force stopped and began to wait. Then from all sides of the army, there was a resounding yell.

"CHARGE!"

Simon ran. Around him shrews, mice, squirrels, moles everyone was running. Then they all hit Malice's force like a charging bull.

Ralph was in a rage. Around him arrows were flying from all sides and were finding their targets. The vermin were screaming in pain and confusion. Ralph was cutting and screaming.

Malice, unlike Pulock, had worked very hard trying to make his troops the best in Oak Wood. They responded quickly. Quickly, the ground was completely spattered in blood. The vermin were fighting strongly and bravely. But the surprise attack was too much. They could not hold on too much longer. After about an hour of fighting, the battle was completely in the Blue Gate's forces favor. Soon Malice himself was the only one left standing, and he stabbed himself in the chest to avoid shame of being killed by the enemy.

All the mice rejoiced. They had cut off a part of the enemy supply line. They had few casualties. A cheer rose.

Simon was among those cheering. He was covered in blood. Blood of the vermin. He was laughing. He was completely savage. He was ready for more.

He got more.

**11**

Unfortunately for Lief's task force, their work for the day was far from over. Graystripe had acted too quickly. Pulock's force had begun a forced march to meet up with Malice's force faster. It would become evident that Pulock's impatience could very well become the downfall Blue Gate's army.

As Lief's army pillaged the bodies of the fallen, they set up camp and set up sentries around the area. Many of the army began to drink to their grand victory. Around sunset, a terrified sentry came stumbling towards the camp towards Lief.

"What is it, young man?" he said, a bit alarmed.

"Pulock is here! Ratels! Rouse the forces." He fell over. He had 4 arrows in his back.

The scene of a deranged sentry pierced with four arrows in his back caused a great stir in the camp. Men got out from their tents and began asking Lief for answers.

"What in the bloody hell is going on here?" screamed Roger followed by a loud "Hurrah!" from the rest of the troops. Lief put his hands up to silence the crowd.

"Get your arms men! This one isn't over! Pulock is here and has the Ratel Raiders with him. Listen now and listen good. Pulock has no idea of the size of our force. As you can see, there is forest all around the clearing that we stay in. I want the mice and the shrews to stay in the clearing to make Pulock believe that it is our only force. I want the squirrels in the woods with notched arrows! We shall ambush the force as they charge the mice. Leave the camp the way it is! I want Pulock to believe that we still have no idea that he is but an hour away. Along with the squirrels I want the badgers in the woods too. On my signal, all the forces in the woods will ambush and flank the enemy and cause confusion. It is essential that the two forces in the open hold. We can win this men! Believe me when I say that you are the Blue Gate's best! Now move you scallywags!"

After his speech, Ralph led the soldiers of the two defending regiments and told them, "I want you to gather very thick and long sticks and then report back to me immediately." Geoff followed his example.

It was done as Lief and Ralph commanded. He was a bit apprehensive about his plans, but he also knew that his army could not survive open battle against the Ratels. They were fearsome creatures. They were all black save the long white stripe going down their backs. They were known for their long broadswords that they wielded with exceptional skill. They were also feared for their ferocitiy in combat. There were stories of a Ratel that had 5 arrows in him and continued to take out an entire group of shrews, who were also well known for combat prowess. Another story told of how a Ratel leaped onto an owl and killed it while in the air. The only way to subdue these vile creatures was to flank them and confuse them. The rest of Pulock's force was basically untrained rabble. Basically common swine. In a one on one battle, a Blue Gate soldier could out-match one of Pulock's raiders. But in the battle that was to begin in a short time, there wouldn't be many one on one fights at all. The enemy outnumbered Lief's force at least 2 to 1.

Lief did have one advantage of Pulock, however. Pulock was renowned for impatience. He was no doubt extremely excited about the events that were unfolding and would no doubt make an all out charge against the seemingly miniscule force of mice and shrews that were waiting by the camp. Pulock was also a fierce warrior that always entered the fray along with his troops. If Lief could slay him before the battle really began, the morale of the swine's troops would plummet. If that happened, the Ratels would be the only thing to worry about, as Lief well knew that one Ratel would attempt to take on an army without a care in the world.

Despite all of this, Lief sent a squirrel messenger to Blue Gates for reinforcements and lay-out of the horrible position that he was in. Lief knew that the chances for victory were tremendously slim in this position, but also understood if he took out Pulock's entire force, or in his case, caused them so many casualties, they would not even be a problem to Graystripe and the Blue Gates. Buoyed by this confidence, he decided that retreat was not an option. Anyway, he wanted to get back at this vermin for causing a ripple in the lake of peace.

Meanwhile, the morale in camp was also fairly high. Lief seemed like a competent commander as he detailed his high risk plans for the inevitable battle. Also, lifted by their rout of Malice's forces, the troops felt invincible. They were also excited by Lief's calm as issued commands under pressure.

But morale was waning in the mice and the shrews. They were worried that the feared Ratels would cut right through them before the ambush could even begin.

Morale in Pulock's army, however, was mixed. The Ratels were, as usual, bloodthirsty and pumped. Pulock and the rest of the rabble were a little more apprehensive. From one of the sentries they had captured, they had learned that Malice's entire force was completely annihilated. This totally enraged Pulock and he left his mind somewhere else. He told his commanders to do an all out charge against the small Blue Gate force. They agreed and the 2nd battle of the Great Oak was set to begin.

12

Dawn was approaching as the figures of Pulock's army could be seen marching towards the clearing in the wood. The vile creatures were silhouetted eerily in the setting sun. The army of Pulock then approached the clearing surrounded by the wood. The Great Oak stood calmly before the inevitable carnage that was to begin. Lief's force that was not concealed stood before the massive force. The armies were about 200 yards apart from each other and both just stood and stared at their foes. Then, without warning, drums began to sound from Pulock's force. The vermin began to yell and wallop and beat their chests. Lief's force staggered, but still maintained their dignity.

After a full half hour, the horrible spectacle ceased. The sun would set in about 2 hours and the armies again were silent. One of the shrews leapt out of his formation and screamed, "Come at us you lousy sons of Pigs!" After his spectacle, he notched an arrow and fired. The arrow struck a Ratel right in the neck and the beast fell over. Lief's army cheared. Pulock's army stared in silence as the shrew had the audacity to moon the opposing force. This was too much. Pulock himself sprang forward and roared

"CHARGE YOU MANGY DOGS!"

And so it began.

Ralph and the audacious leader of the shrews yelled, "Let out the pikes!" The forces all pulled up huge sticks with sharp ends and held them so they pointed directly at their foes. Pulock's army continued to pour towards them.

"HOLD!" yelled Ralph. "NOW!" The pikes went up just as the first wave of Pulock's army ran into the defenders.

The result was devastating.

Without enough time to stop, the attackers had to continue forward. Scores were ran through with the pikes.

"CHARGE!" yelled Geoff. The shrews advanced on the confused attackers. The fighting was fierce. After about ten minutes, the Ratels began to triumph over the defenders. Shrews and mice began to panic as the Ratels massacred their comrades. When Lief's army was nearly at a breaking point, the blue sky turned black with arrows.

Nearly all of them found their targets. Nearly an instant later, another volley came. Most of the enemy faltered, save a few Ratels. Then, the Badger Calvary charged from the right flank of Pulock's army. The pathetic defense was hopeless and his right flank was almost decimated. But, unfortunately for Lief, a few brave Ratels halted the charge with bravery and ferocity.

Amidst all the confusion, the mice and shrews made a brave counter attack. The volleys continued, and sometimes the arrows would hit the very men they were fighting to save.

Ralph was delighted when the Badgers charged. He charged along with the other mice into Pulock's ranks. The fighting was fierce. To his right he saw a Ratel with a mouse in his mouth, one in his right hand and crushing another with his left. He had no time to intervene. As he looked to help his allies, he spotted a stoat.

Pulock saw a measly little mouse approaching him. He sniggered and advanced towards his foe.

"You die here, you pathetic thing!" he cried.

"Do not speak so quickly, vermin!" was the reply he received.

Pulock screamed and charged. He made a sharp jab towards the right, but the blow was parried by the mouse and Pulock had already found himself fighting on the defensive. Pulock made sharp slash towards the mouse's feet but was again parried and as Pulock pulled back, the mouse made a strong jab towards his side. Pulock blocked it, but not strong enough. The mouse quickly made a thrust towards his stomach. He felt the cold steel of the mouse's blade go through him. He blinked, shrugged and fell face first into the bloody ground.

Pulock's men immediately saw their leader gored on the ground. At that instant, at the perfect time, Lief's squirrels charged out of the woods with their daggers. Pulock's men broke ranks and fled before the onslaught. What was a battle became a giant rout. Although organized resistance was feeble, it took about an hour after sunset to subdue the rest of the Ratels. Victory belonged to the forces of the Blue Gate!

Victory was not achieved easily. Nearly all of the Badger Calvary was gone, the mice and the shrews sustained large casualties. But it was a great victory. Pulock's army was running back to whence they came, and scores of prisoners could give valuable information on Largar's plans.

Lief decided that full military honors would go to anyone who participated in the battle, and he was commerated as a War Hero. The shrew commander was killed in the battle, but was given the highest medal awarded to a soldier in the Blue Gate Army. Ralph was deemed a hero and he too received full military honors for his contribution to the outstanding success of the battle of the Great Oak.

After the battle was over, Lief sent a messenger to Blue Gate to tell of the outstanding victory that he had achieved. Little did he know that Blue Gate would need a miracle too if they were going to survive.

13

The situation at the Blue Gate was becoming increasingly desperate. The forces there could not hold the city for more than a few hours. Graystripe was mute with panic and it was decided that she could be no more use to the defense of the Blue Gates. With no leader, it became increasingly risky for a mutiny. In the Throne Room, fights were erupting everywhere. Badgers, mice, hares and shrews fought for control of the defense. It was then that a weasel and a blue haired mouse rose on top of a table.

"STOP!" screamed Terrence. Once he was confident that he had their attention, he said, "I would like you all to meet my friend Lawrence. I think that he may have a plan to save us the desperate situation that we find ourselves in right now."

"What makes you think that little thing can save us from Badfang's Hordes?" screamed a mouse.

"Silence!" Terrence commanded.

"Oh! Let's listen to a weasel now. You could be working for him for all we know!"

Terrence was about to speak when Lawrence spoke. "Now you all must understand that we are in a terribly desperate position. But let me tell you that I have seen Badfang's horde in action.

They are poorly trained and bloodthirsty. You may think that Badfang being a fox that he is clever. Trust me my friends, you are mistaken! He is the only fox in the horde. The rest are as stupid as any common rat!

Now listen to me. An army will not defeat our bloodthirsty foes outside. They are indecisive and will camp for the night. Now listen up! I have a plan that just may turn the tide of the battle. I know it seems hopeless right now, but trust me! This may be our only path to victory!

As you can see," he said, "We have a weasel in our ranks." He pointed to Terrence.

"I propose that we let Terrence out in the night at act as a spy for Badfang. He will have no idea that Terrence is not from his army. Terrence will create false reports that we are preparing for a mass retreat. This will make Badfang excited. Terrence will inform our dangerous enemy that he has access to the southern wall."

"Where is this going?" asked a pesky mouse.

"Let me finish," said Lawrence. "Once Badfang is convinced that he can make a sneak attack on us in our sleep, he will try to slip into the Blue Gates. But we will be waiting my friends. Once most of the force is in the courtyard, we shall use black arrows that will blend in the night against them. They will not know what is happening and will panic. We will then make a charge out of the castle into their confused and demoralized ranks."

At first there was a complete silence. Then one of the generals muttered, "Brilliant."

Preparations were being made just five minutes after the plan was announced. The plan was high risk, but could be another outstanding victory for the Blue Gates.

15

By mike falk


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